France's Adoption of the Gregorian Calendar
- When
- 1582
- Where
- France
- Episodes
- 1
France adopted the Gregorian calendar change in December 1582, following the papal reform. The transition occurred when 9 December was followed by 20 December, aligning the French calendar with the new standard established by the bull Inter gravissimas.
Episodes
Background and detail
Background. The Gregorian calendar was introduced by the papal bull Inter gravissimas as a modification and replacement for the Julian calendar. It went into effect in October 1582. France, identified as a major Catholic power, adopted this change a few months later.
Adoption. France implemented the calendar change a few months after the initial October 1582 transition. The specific date shift involved 9 December being followed by 20 December. This action aligned the French civil calendar with the new standard established by the papal reform.
People involved
- France · Adopting State
- Pope Gregory XIII · Issuer of Reform
Sources
- Gregorian calendar Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-11
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.